Singer-songwriter Sia snags first No. 1 on U.S. Billboard chart

Reuters Staff

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Singer Sia performs at the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) gala in New York June 17, 2014.Kevin Lamarque

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer-songwriter Sia, the writing talent behind several pop hits, on Wednesday grabbed her own No. 1 spot on the weekly U.S. Billboard 200 chart for the first time with the album "1,000 Forms of Fear," according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan.

In its debut week, "1,000 Forms of Fear," sold 52,000 copies, the lowest sales figure for a top-selling album in nearly two years, Billboard said.

The unconventional artist, who has penned songs for Rihanna and Beyonce among others, has famously shunned the industry's marketing machine and not shown her face during TV performances of the single "Chandelier."

Surging back into second place from fifth last week was the soundtrack from the animated Disney film "Frozen," which sold 46,000 copies in its 30th consecutive week in the top five.

British singer-songwriter Sam Smith retained his No. 3 spot with "In the Lonely Hour" selling 42,000 copies, while last week's No. 1 artist Trey Songz dropped to fourth place as "Trigga" sold 35,000 copies, around a third of the 105,000 sold in its debut week.

Another British singer-songwriter, Ed Sheeran, came in at No. 5 with 35,000 copies of "x" sold in its third week after debuting at No. 1.

The veteran rockers at Judas Priest scored their highest place on the charts with their 17th studio album "Redeemer of Souls" debuting at No. 6 with 33,000 copies sold, Billboard said.

In the digital songs chart, "Rude," from Canadian reggae fusion band Magic! rose to first place from second last week with 185,000 downloads.

Total album sales for the week ended July 13 were 4.1 million, a 19 percent decline from the same week last year, Billboard said. Overall year-to-date album sales are 129.2 million, a 15 percent decrease from the same period last year.